The applicant's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,768,252 and 4,825,489 disclose a fitted sheet having an elastic cross extend therebetween at locations spaced from an end panel of the sheet, and elastic corner bands attached to the side panels of the sheet at the ends of the cross band and extending to the adjacent end panel. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,252, the cross bands and corner ends were formed of a flat elastic band with the ends of the cross bands and corner bands attached by stitching to the side and end panels of the fitted sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,489 and my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/365,353 filed June 13, 1989, disclose fitted sheets in which an elastic cross band and corner bands are formed as a harness that is detachably attached to the side and end panels of the sheet by fabric clasps. However, these prior arrangements used a flat elastic band and stitching to secure the cross band and corner bands to the fabric clasps.
The arrangements disclosed in my prior patents have been found effective to retain a fitted sheet in position on a mattress. However, the sewing operations required for attaching the cross band and corner bands to the sheet or to the fabric clasps added to the cost of production. Further, the tension in the cross band and the corner bands was dependent on the length of the cross and corner bands and points of attachment to the side and end panels of the sheet.